Tesla is racing to release its Model S by 2012. As a result it posted another big loss this quarter, burning through a fair chunk of its cash at hand.

Tesla will also deliver an electric version of the Toyota RAV4 crossover in 2012. (Source: New and Fastest)

Tesla has already lost more this year than it had all of last year

The
good news for Tesla Motors is that the company has plenty of cash on
hand thanks to government
grants and an incredibly successful initial
public offering that raised $226M USD. The bad news is
that the company is burning through cash fast as it attempts to
develop new vehicles and expand its distribution network.

Reporting
financials for the first time as a publicly traded company,
Tesla just
announced a loss of $38.5M USD for its second fiscal
quarter, 2010. Year-to-year it reports its revenue rose 5
percent, to $28.4M USD. A year ago the company only lost $10.8M
USD, though.

Tesla is looking to begin producing and selling
its upcoming Model
S mass market luxury sedan in 2012, priced at $57,400 USD.
The car will retain some luxury trappings and have a range of 160
miles. Tesla will produce the new model at the the former NUMMI
factory, located in Fremont, California, which it obtained from
Toyota as part of a joint development deal. The factory had
been scheduled close after former co-operator GM pulled out, in the
wake of its bankruptcy.

Tesla also has a hand in the
development of an electric
version of Toyota's RAV4 crossover SUV which will also hit
the market in 2012. Toyota gave Tesla a relatively meager $50M
USD to help develop the plug-in, but also gave it access to the NUMMI
plant and other perks. Tesla also recently revealed that it is
developing
3 other vehicles internally -- another crossover/SUV, a
Cabriolet, and an electric van.

For Tesla, its current
financial predicament basically boils down to weathering the storm,
which is never an easy position for a company. If the company
can stay afloat through 2012 and make its deadlines for the Model S
and Toyota RAV4 vehicles, it will be poised well to return to
its short-lived
profitability of 2009.

In total Tesla has already lost
more this year ($68M USD) than it did all of
last year ($55.7M USD). One promising sign, though, was that
Tesla significantly improved its gross margin to 22 percent, up from
8 percent from a year before. Gross margin is a measure of
profitability that weighs production costs versus sales costs.

While
still above the $17 IPO price, shares of Tesla (TSLA) have plummeted
from a high of $22 earlier this week to $19.80 following the
financial report.

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quote: unless you're working there, that's the only way WE benefit from Tesla

There's an indirect way of benefitting from Tesla. The more money they make - the faster US will get rid of the foreign oil dependence - the faster terrorist's main source of financial support evaporates - and the faster the air becomes cleaner everywhere, all of these factors benefit everyone, including you and me.

quote: he more money they make - the faster US will get rid of the foreign oil dependence

No we don't. We can consider ourselves off of foreign and domestic oil (the two can't be separated..oil is a commodity), when the vast majority of the US is not using oil. That's takes an effort on most all industries as well as some personal responsibility. You can "do your part" by reducing the amount of oil byproducts that you use. Here's a few:http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_important_b...

Granted, transportation is about 45% of the usage and reducing that makes a huge dent but we as individuals don't have to wait for demand of cars that use other than crude oil to show up.

Agreed, there are more than just cars out there that use many products that are derived from oil.

The US does have a large oil reserve contrary to popular belief. Problem is that it is still cheaper to get it from the Middle East. The oil from the Middle East is cheaper to refine and yes, the labor costs here are another factor.